Article of fibrous material.



P. R. FRENCH.

ARTICLE OF FIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLXOATION HLED Nov. 29, 191e.

atente Jan. l, 19M.

`IPIIILIE" R. FRENCH, Gli'l ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS.

ARTICLE 0F FIBROU-S MATERIAI To all whom it ma concern.'

Be it known tat I, PHILIP R. FRENCH,

-of' Andoveain the county of Essex and' State of Massachusetts, have invented'certain new and usefull Improvements in Arti-- cles of Fibrous Material, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to articles made of fibrous material, felt, and particularly to` articles of such material adapted for use in.

boots'and shoes, my invention being applicable to felt articles such as inner soles, in-

step arch' supporters, heel cushions, etc.,-

adapted to be interposed between the bottom of the shoe and the foot of the wearer. The invention is intended particularly to 'render a felt body Waterproof Without destroying its resilience or its cushioning prop` erty, the Waterproofing material being of suchnature that it adheres -tenacionsly to the fibers of the felt and constitutes a binder which holds the libere closely associated, but

is not liable to be cracked and disintegrated by .liexure of theI felt article, the material being applied to the felt in solution with a volatile solvent and rendering the felt body plastic before the solvent is evaporated, so

that the body may be molded into any de- Sired form which is rendered permanent by the material after the evaporation of 'the solvent. 4The Waterproof quality imparted t0 the felt renders it particularly desirable for use as a cushion interposed between the Wearers foot andthe bottom of the shoe and preventing moisture from passingeither from the bottom of the shoe to the Wearers foot or from the Wearers foot into the body of the article.

Of thev accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification,-Figure l represents a perspective view of a felt inner ysole embodying my invention; Fig. 2 repre- Speciication of Letters Patent.

PatenteaJan. 13, 1914.

Application filed Nqvember 29, 1916. Serial No. 594,730.

In carrying out my invention- I dissolve a material such as cellulose tetraceta'te, in a volatile solvent such as acetone, and apply the saine to a'felt body which may be an inner sole a, anv instep arch supporter b, an inside heel cushion c, or any other article which maybe made of felt and to which it is desirable to impart a Waterproof quality Without destroying the resilience of the felt.

In case the felt article is-an inner sole which does not require to be molded to give it its final form, I usually apply the solution only to the surface of the felt article, and preferably'to the under surface, the solution being relatively thick or viscous and form ing a surface binder d, indicated by thev heavy black lines in Figs. l and 2. The solution penetrates the material only sufliciently to cause its firm adherence thereto,

Vheat being preferably employed to facilitate evaporation. An inner sole thus constructed retains, throughout the greater part of its thickness, the original resilience of the felt, so that it constitutes a desirable cushion for the foot, the layer Z not only binding the fibers at one side of the felt body together, but also preventing moisture from the bottom of the shoe from entering the inner sole. A

Certain classes-of articles are preferably treated with two solutions, o ne of which is relatively thin and permeates the entire thickness of the article, While the other is thick and viscous forming a surface binding layer al.

While the inner sole, represented by Figs. 1- and 2, may be treated with the two solutions above mentioned, I prefer, since the inner sole does not require molding, to provide it with the binding layer d only.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I show an instep arch supporter which is transversely curved so of the solventbecoming the residuum of that one edge is raised above the body portion and is adapted to bear on the inner side of the instep of the foot. In .forming vthis article I take a suitably shapedy felt blank and saturate it With t-he thinner solution Which permeates'the entire thickness of the blank, as indicated by the stippling in Fig. 4. I then subject the saturated blank to the molding pressure, imparting to it the desired form, and cause the evaporation of the solvent, to make said form permanent. The binding layer al may be applied after the evaporation of the solvent of the thinner solution.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I show a Wedge shaped heel cushion, adapted to bear on the heel end of the permanent inner sole of the boot or shoe, and serve as a cushion for theheel of the Wearers foot. This cushion -may be treated in the same manner as the inner sole, shown by Figs. l and 2, that is to say, it may have a surface binding layer d, the main body of the felt being free from the binding material. If desired, however, the cushion c may be treated only With the thinner solution permeating its entire thickness, as indicated by the stippling in Fig. 6. Furthermore, it is obvious that the cushion c may.

be treated both With the thinner solution, and the binding layer d. TheY instep arch supporter b may also be made Without the binding layer, although in a molded article of this character I consider the binding layer more desirable than in an article which is not molded, the binding layer increasin the stiffness of the article and enabling 1t to retain the shape imparted to it by the molding operation Without impairing its resilience, by which term I mean in this case, its freedom to yield to the pressure eX- erted on its upper side and to expand on the removal of such pressure.

I find that cellulose tetracetate dissolved in a volatilevsolvent and applied to a felt article is characterized after the evaporation of the-solvent as follows: (l) The residual' material forms a tough and tenacious binder which Aadheres firmly to the fibers of the felt and is free frdm liability of being` cracked or disintegrated by that it does not crumble or assume a granular condition either when applied inthe form of a relatively thick or a relatively thin solution; (2) the residual material applied in either form renders 'the felt Waterproof; (3) the material When constituting a thin solution, permeating the entire thickness of the felt, renders the latter plastic before the solvent evaporates, so that the article may be readily molded, the residual material after the evaporation a binder which holds the fibers associated Without materially affecting the resilience of the felt body; (4)

flexure of the article s'owhich 'is free W'hile cellulose tetracetate dissolved in acetone constitutes the best solution known to me for the purpose described, it is obvious that I may dissolve any other` suitable material in a. volatile solvent of any suitable character to form a solution, the residuum of which imparts to a felt article the characteristics above specified,

y The thinner solution is preferably made by dissolving ten (l0) pounds of cellulose tetracetate in one hundred (100) pounds of acetone. l

The thicker solution is preferably made by dissolving twenty (20) parts of cellulose tetracetate in one hundred (100) poundsvof;

acetone.

1. An instep arch supporter comprising la resilient, shaped, felt body permeated'wit'h the residuum of a solution of Waterproofing T material, said residuum Waterproofing the bers and constituting therefor a binder free from liability to be disintegrated by iexure of the article and unaffected bythe heat, of the foot, said body deposit of residuum from a solution of simi'- lar Waterproofing material.

2. An article adapted for' use in those havingja stiffen- `ing layer on its surface formed 4by a thicker parts of footwear contacting lwith the sole of the foot, comprising a resilient fibrous body portion provided With' the residuuiniA of two solutions of Waterproofing material, one

residuum being relatively thin and permeating the cnt-ire article, While the other residuum is relatively thick and forms a stiening layer on the surface of the article, each residuum Waterproofing the fibers with which it is in contact, and constitutinga tough, tenacious and flexible binder which is free from liability to be disintegrated by flexure of the article, and is unatfected'byI the heat of the human body. f

3. An article adapted for use in those i parts of footwear of i the foot, comprising 'a molded resilient fibrous body portion permeated throughout" its entire mass with the residuum of a solution of Waterproofing materlal, said re-` and permeat` siduum being relatively thin, ing the entire article,and Waterproofing the same Without materially 'aecting :its Acompressibility and resilience, and constituting a tough, tenacious and flexible binder grated by iiexure lof the article, and is `unaffected by the heat of the human body'.V l

4. An article adapted for use in those parts of footwear contacting with the sole of contacting with the sole fromliabilityv to beV disintei` the foot, comprising a resilient body portion i of felt, whose bers are Waterproofed and held associated by the residuum of a solution of cellulose tetracetate, said residuum -constituting a tough, tenacious and flexible 5 binler free from liability to disintegrate by HeXure of the article and unaffected by the heat of the foot.

In testimony whereof I have axed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

PHILIP R. FRENCH.

Witnesses:

C. F, BROWN, GEO. W. FRENCH. 

